Sole-fitting machine



(No Model.)

M. L. KEITH. SOLE FITTING MACHINE.

' N0. 448,4 5. patented Mar. 17,1891

UNlTED Sra'rns Parent rerun.

MYRON LEE KEITH, OF OAMPELLO, MASSACHUSETTS.

SOLE-FITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,435, dated March 17, 1891. A licati fil d December 10, 1890, Serial No. 374,144- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it Known that I, MYRON LEE KEITH, Of Campello, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sole and lVclt Fitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to the operation of fitting the edges of welted boot or shoe soles. The word fitting used in this connection is understood by boot and shoe manufacturers as trimming the edge of the sole to a shape closely approximating that which it possesses in the finished boot or shoe without giving it the perfect form which it finally possesses.

1n the manufacture of welted boots and shoes it is customary to apply the outer sole to the lasted upper and inner sole and the welt thereto attached, the outer sole being roughly cut out and having a considerable amount of surplus material at its margin, which material must be cut away prior to the operation of channeling to make the margin of the sole conform to the general shape of the upper and inner sole, the operation of cutting away this surplus material being technically known as fitting the sole.

I-Ieretofore the sole has been fitted by a hand-knife manipulated by the operator and guided only by his eye, the operator cutting awav the surplus materlal, so as to bring th sole as nearly into conformity with the outline of the upper and inner sole as he can.

My invention has for its ob ect to enable the operation to be performed more rapidly and accurately than heretofore, and to determine the form imparted by the fitting operation by the shape of tho lnner sole and that portion of the upper which bears on the edge thereof, so that the edge of the fitted sole will infallibly conform to the general shape of the upper. I

My invention consists in the improvements tending to this end, which 1 W111 now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a side elevation and partial section of a solefitting machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a top vlew of the same. Fig. 3 represents an end View of a portion of the machine, and Fig. 4: represents a perspective View of the yielding guard which partially covers the rotary cutter of the machine.

The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

In the drawings, a represents a supporting frame on which are formed bearings b b, supporting the cutter-operating shaft 0. Said shaft is adapted to be rotated in any suitable way, as bya belt applied to a pulley (Z on said shaft.

c represents a rotary cutter affixed to the shaft 0. Said cutter may be of any suitable construction, and is provided with cutting edges 5, formed to trim the edges of a sole, and rand and welt trimming edges 6, which are here shown as oblique extensions of the cutting-edges 5, although said edges 6 may be made separately from the cutting-edges 5. The cutting-edges 5 and 6 are adapted to act on all parts of a sole edge, including the fore part and the rand thereof and the heel-seat portion.

f represents a circular rest, which is formed as a beveled collar surrounding the cutter e and connected by arms 7 with a sleeve or ring 8, which encircles and is adapted to slide upon a flanged sleeve 9, mounted upon the shaft 0, said sleeve bearing against a shoulder 10 on said shaft. The sleeve or ring 8 is provided a with an inwardly-projectin g flange 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, said flange extending nearly to the periphery of the shaft. Between the flange 12 and the flanged sleeve 9 is an annular space, which contains a spring 13. Said spring is supported at one end by the sleeve 9 and bears at its other end against the flange 12, so that its tendency is to press the rest f outwardly or toward the rand-cutters 6, the said rest being adapted by the spring to yield, and thus permit the interposition of a sole edge of any desired thickness between the rand-cutters 6 and the rest. The inner surface of the ring-shaped rest f is of greater diameter than the cutter, so that a space exists around the cutter for the escape into the ring of the cuttings detached from the sole edge by the cutter. Said cuttings escape through the openings (shown in Fig. 4:) be tween the arms 7, that connect the rest f with the ring or sleeve 8. g

In connection with the cutter and rest ICO above described I employ an upper guard g and a counter-guard h, which are mounted, respectively, upon swinging arms 2' and j, attached to a hub 70, common to both arms, said hub being affixed to a rock-shaft or stud Z, which is journaled in a bearing m on an arm 0, affixed to the supporting-frame of the machine. The upper guard g and counter-guard hare adapted by the devices last described to be used interchangeably with the eutter-- that is to say, when the arms 2' and j are turned to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the upper guard g will cover the outer end of the cutter e and stand in close proximity thereto, said guard having a thin edge adapted to enter the crease between the welt and upper of a boot or shoe and prevent access of the cutter to the said upper. \Vhen the arms M are swung to the position shown in dotted lines in- Fig. 3, the counterguard h is brought into position to cover the outer end of the cutter c, said guard it being formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that it iits the portion of the counter adjoining the heel and enters the rand-crease between the counter and heel-seat.

The guards g and It may be moved from one position to the other by the hands of the operator or in any other suitable way. I prefer to slightly recess the side of each guard that adjoins the cutter, the recess in the guard 9 being shown in Fig. 1, said recess enabling the marginal portion of the guard to slightly overlap or stand about flush with the outer ends ofthe rand-cutter 6, as shown in Fig. 1. This construction necessitates a slight lateral movement of each guard away from the cutter before the guards can be swung to move one out of and the other into its operative relation with the cutter. Each guard when in operative position is held at its closest approach to the cutter by'means of a spring g, which is interposed between a nut r on the rear end of the rock-shaft Z and the arm 0, through which said rockshaft passes, the spring normally pressing the rock-shaft in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 as far as a stop-pin s, inserted in the bearing an and entering a groove t in the rock-shaft, will permit.

\Vhen the operator desires to change the positions of the guards g 71, he moves the rockshaft endwise, so as to separate the acting guard from the cutter, and then swings the arms U to effect the desired change, each guard when brought to its operative position being moved inwardly over the end of the cutter by the'spring q.

The outward movement of the rock-shaft Z is preferably effected by means of a treadle (not shown) connected by a rod 1) with a bellcrank lever a, which is pivoted to the supporting-frame and has one of its arms e11- gaged with a pin r, projecting from the rockshaft Z through a slotin the bearing m.

In the operation of the machine above described the sole edge to be fitted is inserted between the upper guard g and the rest f, the bottom of the sole bearing upon the rest f, which yields to conform to the thickness of the sole. The spring 13 is of sufficient strength to hold the rest firmly against the bottom of the sole and keep the rand or welt edge thereofproperly presented to the rand-cutters 6, the guard 9 being at the same time in the crease between the welt and upper and preventing injury to the upper. Vhen the fore part has been fitted and before fitting the heel-seat portion of the sole, the position of the guards is changed, the counter-guard It being brought into position to co-operate with the cutter and preventing injury to the counter during the operation of fitting the heel-seat.

By reference to Fig.1 it will be seen that the margin of the fore-part guard g is outside the radius of the rand-cutters 6, the diameter of said guard being greater than that of the cutter-head at its largest portion, so that the margin or periphery of the guard enters the crease between the welt and upper and bears on the bottom of said crease. Hence the cutti n g-edges cannotapproach nearer the bottom of said crease than the distance between their outer portions and the periphery of the guard. The bottom of the crease is therefore a templet, which determines the shape imparted by the cutter-head to the edge of the sole. The counter-guard It also projects outside the radius of the rand-cutters 6, but preferably to a less extent than the fore-part guard, the crease between the counter and sole being usually shallower than that between the upper and welt.

My improvements, as already stated, are intended for the fitting of the edges of soles that have been temporarily secured to the uppers and inner soles by means of cement or tacks, the guards g and it running in the crease between the upper and sole and governing the depth to which the cutter enters the sole edge. Hence said edge is cut away exactly parallel with the edge of the inner sole, which forms a support for the guards g and h.

It will be seen that the employment of the two interchangeable guards enables both the sole and the heel-seat to be fitted by the same cutter, one guard being formed to co-operate with the side of the rand-crease that is backed by the inner sole in regulating the depth of cut along the sole or fore-part edge, while the other guard performs a like office when the heel-seat is being fitted. Y

The form imparted by the operation of the cutter to the entire edge of the sole, including both the fore part and heel-seat, is de- IIO termined by the form of the upper, or, in

other words, by the portions of the upper and counter thatimmediately adjoin the sole and heel-seat.

After the sole has been titted iii the manner above described a channel is cut in its outer surface by a channeling-tool guided by the fitted edge of the sole, and then the sole and welt are united by stitches laid in said channel, after which the sole is .trimmed to smooth and finish its edge.

I claim 1. The combination of a rotary cutter and two guards, one formed to fit the rand-crease of the fore part and the other the rand-crease of the heel of the boot or shoe, both mounted on a movable support, whereby either guard is adapted to be placed in operative relation to the cutter, as set fort-h.

2. The combination of a rotary cutter, two guards, one formed to fit the rand-crease of the fore part and the other the rand-crease of the heel of a boot or shoe, both mounted on a movable support, whereby either guard is adapted to be placed in operative relation to the cutter, and a spring-pressed rest arranged to press the work toward the operative guard, as set forth. 7

3. The combination of a rotary cutter, the two guards formed to enter the rand-crease at the fore part and heel, respectively, the connected arms supporting said guards, and the stud or shaft supporting said arms and mounted to both rotate and move endwise in a fixed bearing, whereby the guards may be moved edgewise into and out of coincidence with the cutter and sidewise to enable the operating-guard to overlap the cutter at its margin, as set forth.

4. The combination, with the cutter and two guards, of the connected arms supporting said guards, the stud or shaft Z, adapted to rotate and to move endwise in a fixed bearing,

and a spring whereby said shaft, arms, and guards are yieldingly held in position to cause the operative-guard to overlap the cutter at its margin, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the cutter and the two guards, of the connected arms sup porting said guards, the stud or shaft Z, adapted to rotate and to move endwise in a fixed bearing, a spring whereby said shaft, arms, and guards are yieldingly heldin position to cause the operative guard to overlap the cutter at its margin, and means, substantially as described, for moving said shaft, arms, and guards against the pressure of said spring, as set forth.

6. The combination of the rotary cutter and its shaft, the annular rest f, surrounding the cutter and comprising in its construction a hub or sleeve 8, adapted to slide on said shaft, an inwardly projecting flange 12 on said sleeve, and arms 7 7, connecting the said hub with the sole-supporting or acting portion of the rest, said arms being separated by spaces which permit the escape of cuttings, and a spring arranged to bear on the flange 12 and press the rest toward one end of the cutter, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 29th day of November, A. D. 1890.

MYRON LEE KEITH.

\Vitnesses:

EWING W. HAMLEN, A. D. HARRISON. 

